


There's Always You

by SwingFromTwistedTrees



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt Stephanie Brown, just gals being pals in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:47:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29143203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwingFromTwistedTrees/pseuds/SwingFromTwistedTrees
Summary: Stephanie misses her girlfriend after a long patrol.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain
Kudos: 15





	There's Always You

Stephanie had long since gotten used to Cass climbing in through her bedroom window whenever they got home from patrol at different times. Steph had given her a key months ago, but the lock always sticks and the door creaks, and Cass prefers silent entrances. Cass never woke her coming inside; all of Gotham’s vigilantes slept so little as it was, and Cassandra liked to be sure that Stephanie never lost a minute of it. When Cass had started staying over, towards the beginning of their relationship, Stephanie had preferred to stay awake until she came in. It was primarily out of concern for Cass, but they had also struggled to find a good rhythm when they started dating, and the tender moments after patrol of checking each other over and then falling asleep together had been good for them. 

This had changed as their relationship continued as so many things do. Cass was rarely injured anyway, and while she liked checking on Stephanie, she didn’t like to be fussed over herself. After a bit, they discussed it and determined that this part of their routine was creating more tension these days rather than relieving it. Crime had picked up and patrol shifts were changed, and Cass was often out much later than Stephanie was. Cass had told her that it no longer made sense for Stephanie to stay up for her when she was already so exhausted after patrol, and as much as Stephanie hated to admit it, she was right. They decided that Stephanie would text Cass once she got home from patrol so that Cass didn’t worry, and Cass would call if there were any serious injuries. After so many nights of falling asleep together, going to bed alone took some getting used to for Stephanie, but she always woke up in the mornings to Cass wrapped around her, and the quiet breaths on her neck reminded her that everything was okay.

However, that did not appear to be how this night was going to go. Stephanie had received quite the beating after being taken by surprise (a rookie mistake she had mentally been berating herself for all night), and Red Robin had had to step in to help her. The rest of her patrol shift didn’t go much better. She was already off her game and in pain, and eventually Tim told her to go home early and take care of herself before her stubbornness got her killed. He added a joke about not wanting to face the wrath of Cass if he let her take any more hits than she already had, and Stephanie would have laughed if her ribs weren’t aching so much. She checked in with Cass like normal, updated her on the injuries she’d sustained, and then slowly made her way home. Stephanie was sure she had bruised her ribs, and she was pretty sure she had sprained her wrist, not to mention the various bruises and cuts she had received elsewhere. Certainly not the worst injuries she’d ever gotten, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. She was so exhausted that she was sure that despite the pain she would collapse into bed and sleep like the dead, but her body seemed to have other plans. 

Stephanie couldn’t find a sleeping position that didn’t hurt like hell. All of her muscles were tense and sore, and she felt tears of frustration prickling behind her eyes. After nearly an hour of trying and failing to find a relatively painless position, Steph let out a huff and got out of bed, wincing as the motion pulled at her sore ribs. She decided she would ice her sprained wrist and watch bad sitcom reruns until Cass came home. Steph had come to find that no matter how sore she was after a particularly eventful patrol Cass had a way of relaxing her enough to sleep. Glancing at the clock, Steph determined that she had a good two hours before Cass would be back. She grabbed the ice pack from the freezer, which honestly given their nighttime activities was probably Cass and Steph’s most prized possession. Stephanie settled onto the couch and grabbed the remote. She flipped through the channels until she found some reruns of some obscure show that ran for one season in the 90s. It wasn’t good, but it didn’t require a lot of brain power to keep up with, and that was really all Steph needed at that moment. She draped the ice pack across her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief. Her ribs still ached, and she felt beyond tense, but at least this one thing would start to feel better, and some nights that was all she could hope for. Once she had settled into the least painful position possible, she tried very hard not to move. This proved challenging for Steph given that sitting still had never really been her forte.   
It didn’t help that Steph was struck by the realization that this was the longest amount of time she had spent alone in the apartment since she and Cass had gotten serious. Typically, she fell asleep the moment she crawled into bed after patrol, and she always woke up with Cass beside her. Between her exhaustion and the fact that Steph was pretty sure Cass watched her from a nearby rooftop until Steph was safely in bed, there wasn’t much time for her to feel alone. She found the sudden pang of loneliness to be a little silly, given that had been less than eight hours since she had last seen Cass, and she wouldn’t have even noticed if she had just gone to sleep like normal. Stephanie was trying really hard to focus on the television rather than the pain in her body or her sudden feelings of loneliness, but she was finding it difficult. After an episode or two, she finally managed to zone out a little, and she was starting to feel a little better. The ice pack was back in the freezer, and she still ached, but it was a little duller. She was exhausted, and she figured trying to go back to bed was the best option.

Stephanie made her way back to her room carefully, trying hard not to jostle any injuries that had already started to hurt less. She crawled under the covers, letting out a huff when the muscles over ribs pulled and relaxed again, leaving behind the same throbbing she had felt for the last hour. Steph wasn’t sure if she would actually manage to fall asleep before Cass got home, but there was nothing wrong with trying. Time seemed to drag. She would be fine one second, relaxing into sleep and then pain would shoot through her muscles and she was wide awake again. Just as she once again felt ready to doze off, a cold breeze alerted her that the window had opened, and then a shift in weight beside her told her Cass had sat down on the bed. She never understood how Cass was able to open that window so soundlessly. It never seemed to work when Steph was the one doing it. Stephanie sat up, winced, and then turned the lamp on the nightstand on. Cass was seated on the edge of the bed removing her boots. 

“You’re awake,” Cass said, kissed Steph on the forehead and then moved towards their bathroom to change. 

“I couldn’t fall asleep. Everything hurts,” Steph answered.

Cass didn’t answer, and Stephanie didn’t really expect her to until she came back into the room. Cass certainly talked more than she used to, but she preferred to be looking at the other person when she spoke to them, even with Steph. Stephanie suspected it was because she liked to be able to match a person’s words with their body language, although they had never discussed it in any real detail. “Words lie, bodies don’t,” Cass had told her once.

“Show me,” Cass said when she came back to the bedroom.

Stephanie was too tired to actually stand up. She pulled back the covers so Cass could see any bruises on her legs under her shorts and unbuttoned the flannel she wore for pajamas (“borrowed” from Cass) and let Cass inspect the bruises on her abdomen, which she knew was what Cass was really worried about. Cass was gentle as always, but Stephanie still hissed in pain when she touched the bruises to assess the damage. Cass checked her wrist, still swollen but much better than before. None of the other cuts and bruises seemed to concern her, since most were pretty common in their profession.

“Ice?” Cass asked softly, pressing a gentle kiss on Steph’s wrist.

“I iced the wrist and a little on my ribs. I’m fine, really. Just hurting.” Steph brushed a strand of hair from Cass’s face and offered her a small smile. 

Cass nodded, evidently satisfied and buttoned Stephanie’s shirt back up.

“Sleep,” Cass said, and Steph didn’t need to be told twice. 

Cass helped her lay back down under the covers and then reached over to click the lamp back off. Stephanie sighed in relief as Cass’s arms wrapped around her waist, with Cass being extra careful to avoid her ribs. It was like all the tension eased from her body, and Stephanie was sure Cass could feel it too.

“I missed you,” Stephanie murmured.

“Dork,” Cass said softly as she ran her hand through Steph’s hair. 

Stephanie laughed softly and then closed her eyes. Stephanie felt her eyes growing heavy, her previous troubles falling asleep forgotten. She was warm, she was safe, and she had Cass. She felt Cass press another kiss to her forehead as she drifted off.

“Love you,” Cass whispered.


End file.
